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Airi's POV
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Our time on the wall was cut short by Astrid and Etsu opening the door I came from.

Astrid stood for a second before opening her mouth.

"Hoh? Do I see some roses bloomi--" (Astrid)

She was cut off by a smack on the head by Etsu.

"The mayor wants to meet us, come on." (Etsu)

"Ah, right." (Airi)

I stand up quickly and walk towards Etsu, only stopping halfway to look at Ryu, who hadn't moved.

"That includes you, too." (Etsu)

Ryu sighs before climbing to his feet, his legs shaking slightly.

I don't point it out and instead turn back towards Etsu, walking through the doorway.

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"Now, before we enter, the mayor is usually a calm person, but he will snap if we annoy him too much, so don't do that." (Captain)

Captain looks at Ryu for a few moments before turning to the large, wooden door before us and pushing it open.

As we walk through, we enter a surprisingly humble office, for a Count, that is.

Several bookcases surround the room, all filled with several types of different books. They all seemed to be ordered at first glance, but as you look closer, each one had obscure titles, like "How to craft a large spear using Nymphs", and the like.

Large piles of paper are stacked up around the desk that sits at the back of the room.

The far wall seems to have its own type of glamour as two large windows cover it, showing us a view of the entire Noble district.

The door suddenly closing behind us surprised me, and I quickly turned around, only to see a large wyvine head above the door.

"That's... A unique taste." (Airi)

"Hoh! So you understand?" (Mayor)

Accidentally blurting out my thoughts, the Mayor quickly jumps on the conversation.

"The beauty of the wyvines! The only beings that resemble the legendary figures of the wyverns! My, it is such a shame that they hold the physique of a lizardman, but no matter! They hold only the blood of the wyvern in them! For that, they are special, and my favorites!" (Mayor)

He quickly entered a spiel about the wyvines, only to be brought back to the situation by a quick cough from his attendant.

"R-right. Now, let's get to the matter at hand. I am Count Wistburn, the Mayor of Alzibria. Thank you for heeding my request." (Mayor Wistburn)

"The pleasure is mine. My name is Doujima, the Captain of this squad." (Captain)

"Doujima, is it?" (Mayor Wistburn)

His face seems to contort slightly at hearing the Captain's name.

"Right, then, Doujima, will you tell me who it was that had attacked my town?" (Mayor Wistburn)

"We believe it to be the No-Name bandits, under the guise of The Cardinal." (Captain)

"The No-Names? They're back?" (Mayor Wistburn)

"We think that this was their first attack since coming back, based on the speech given by a member of the bandits, Kagei." (Captain)

"A member? How do you know this?" (Mayor Wistburn)

"We believed it to be self-explanatory from the power he held, but we also had another source." (Captain)

"Another source? Who was this?" (Mayor Wistburn)

Ryu seemed to react to this slightly as his hand twitched.

"...I'm afraid I cannot tell you." (Captain)

The mayor seemed to stare at the Captain's face for a few seconds before sighing.

"I won't get anything out of you, so I'll drop it." (Mayor Wistburn)

"I would prefer it if you would." (Captain)

"Anyway, as for what I wanted to say," (Mayor Wistburn)

He stands up from his chair and walks to the front of his desk.

"Thank you very much for your contributions to this town." (Mayor Wistburn)

As he speaks, the mayor bows his head towards us.

"You have saved this town from a tragic event. As the mayor, I cannot thank you enough." (Mayor Wistburn)

"Please raise your head, Mayor. We only did what was required of us as knights." (Captain)

"Maa, so humble, but nevermind. There is something I would like to ask of you." (Mayor Wistburn)

"What is it?" (Captain)

"I would like you to ensure that the roads leading out of town are safe from the monsters of the forest." (Mayor Wistburn)

"The monsters? If you just hold the merchants back for a few days, the roads should be safe." (Kana)

"Yes, normally it would. However, an adventurer that had entered this town during the last week noticed the trouble in the roads and went to investigate." (Mayor Wistburn)

"And?" (Kana)

"He came back with his left arm missing, large gashes on his chest, and bite marks on his legs." (Mayor Wistburn)

"That's what happens when you enter the forest unprepared." (Ryu)

Muttering under his breath, Ryu makes a remark about the adventurer, which was caught by the mayor.

"Ah, you see. He wasn't unprepared. He had a full set of mythril armour, and a magisteel longsword. He was an A rank adventurer." (Mayor Wistburn)

"An A rank? The forest at best is a B." (Kana)

"That's why I'm concerned. The other reason is because of what the adventurer said." (Mayor Wistburn)

"Hm?" (Kana)

"His words were 'That thing is too strong, it's S rank at its weakest.'" (Mayor Wistburn)

"An S rank monster?" (Ryu)

"Ah, you might not know. Monsters are split into 9 ranks depending on how strong they are: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, and F. F ranks are usually the simple slimes you see in the plains, while SSS monsters are the mythical ones, like wyverns. You might even put a Demon Lord there, if they exist." (Astrid)

"...A Fenrir, maybe?" (Ryu)

"You know the monster?" (Mayor Wistburn)

"Probably. It's about... 3 metres tall? It's a really large firnir, with teeth that can puncture steel, and fur that blocks all magic attacks." (Ryu)

"Sounds S rank alright. But I don't understand how it can cause the monsters to go crazy? It's a single wolf, isn't it?" (Astrid)

"You'd say firnir are around a C or D rank?" (Ryu)

"They're D rank, yes." (Mayor Wistburn)

"The Fenrir has the power to boost that to a B rank." (Ryu)

"A B rank!?" (Astrid)

"Mhm. It does this to every firnir in the forest, so they become the apex predators." (Ryu)

"You've fought it before?" (Kana)

"Mm. It surrounded itself with firnirs. The Fenrir, though, was tough. It took about 10 minutes to cut of a leg, then another 20 to finish it." (Ryu)

"You've killed one?" (Airi)

"I did, but barely." (Ryu)

"Tell us everything." (Captain)

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Author Notes
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Out of one arc, straight into another.

For a chapter that had literally 0 action, I found it surprisingly easy to write. Maybe it was the setting up for the mini arc coming up, or just that I had motivation.

Also, I just suddenly decided to drop the Captain's bame: Doujima! I don't think I'll swap the name in the brackets purely because I don't think that my characters will be using it all that much, and will be mainly using 'Captain', so I see little need to.

Also, I don't think this next arc will be a big one, just a mini one that'll let me fully close up the Alzibria arc.